The
main city and capital of the Nakhchivan
Republic, also called Nakhchivan, was an ancient trading centre.
Some historians consider that it was founded in the 16th century
BC. According to an Armenian legend, the city was founded by Noah. The
Greeks and Romans called it Nacksuana / Naxuana (from the Greek for "sweet
water"). As early as the 2nd century BC it is mentioned by Ptolomy as a
thriving city.

It is spread over the foothills of Zangezur
chain, on the right bank of the Nakhchivan river at an altitude of almost
1000 m.

Invader after invader looted, destroyed
and (in some cases) rebuilt the city. It was the capital of the Atabek
Eldegiz emirate in the 12th century and the Nakhchivan Khanate in the 18th
century.

The
main sight in the city is the 12th century Momine Khatum Mausoleum,
also
known as 'Atabek Gumbezi'. Momine Khatum was the wife of Ildegizid Atabek
Djakhan Pakhlevan, ruler of the the Atabek Eldegiz emirate. The 10-sided
monument is decorated with intricate geometrical motives and Kufic script,
it uses turquoise glazed bricks. It shares the neighbourhood with a statue
of its architect - Abubakr oglu Ajami - and a bust of Heidar Aliyev. Also
from the 12th century and by the same architect, is the octogonal Yusuf
Ibn Kusir tomb, known as 'Atababa', half abandoned near the main cemetery.

More
recent (1993) is the white marble mausoleum of Hussein Javid. The
Azeri writer died in the Gulag under Stalin. Both the mausoleum and his
house museum are located east of the theatre. Although being a recent construction,
Hussein Javid's mausoleum is of great iconic importance, representing the
ability of the exclave to live despite the Armenian embargo and becoming
a symbol of Nakhchivan itself.

The city also has an historical museum,
a literary museum (both on Nizami street) and the house museum of Nakhchivansku
(on Ataturk street). Have a look also at the baths and the blue
domed Imamzade, the Uzbek style tomb of Abu Muzaffa Bahdur Khan.
The city has a few interesting mosques, particularly the Juma mosque, with
its large dome.

Today
Nakhchivan city is home to over 60.000 inhabitants. It has some industry,
centred around glass, furniture, textiles and carpets, aluminium, tobacco
and grape processing. Currently the government is looking for investment
to develop tourism and oil production. Socially, this regional capital
is quite sophisticated with its own university and a significant scientific
and artistic community. For entertainment try the palace of culture, on
Azadlyg avenue, the state musical and drama theatre on Ahmed Javad street
or the puppet theatre on Nizami street.

The city has a lot of business visitors
from Iran, Turkey and Russia (these countries have consulates in the city),
leading to a reasonable offer of hotels.

Nakhchivan
city is served by an airport and theoretically has good road and rail links,
however the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has made access more difficult contributing
to a greater isolation. The best way to get to Nakhchivan is to fly from
Baku
to Jevlach airport, south-east of the city (airport code: EVL). From Jevlach
you can also fly to Moscow with Samara airlines. If you are arriving
from Baku there is no passport check and you can simply walk out of the
terminal. There are buses and taxis to the city, which is only 3km away.
From the city, buses to the airport leave from the Shabuz bus station on
the NW part of the city.

Several buses a day depart for Igdir and
Erzerum in eastern Turkey, allowing easy connections to the rest
of Turkey. There are train services to Ordubad and Sharur. Inside
the city there are buses and trolley-buses.